The uses of AI are varied, and several fascinating uses of it have been attempted in retail—facial recognition, computer vision and the like. However, in this race for applying AI in unique and attractive ways, an important piece of the AI learning curve is missing—the flashy AI technology used at the front end cannot be fully appreciated without a complex infrastructure that comprises end-to-end process automation.

Roughly 37 percent of decision makers for business and technology report that retail organizations experience manual routing and process gaps. Process gaps may cause the supply chain or customer interactions to lose transparency, and shatter customer journeys. Retail organizations that are suffering due to manual routing and process gaps need to lay the groundwork for automation before jumping into the AI bandwagon.

AI in the retail sector should focus on certain key points. These include:

•  Customer Journey Automation: Manual processes and legacy systems often hinder customer journeys. The automation of customer journeys improves the online shopping experience, especially in combination with AI-based solutions like intelligent recommendation solutions and enhanced analytics.

 •  Rapid Software Building: Oftentimes, firms do not have the time or resources required to build software that is necessary for customer journey automation. New tools such as low-code development platforms step up in order to speed up the software development process after retailers identify the pain points in their customers’ journey. Paving the path to seamless journeys is essential to use predictive AI features to further improve the process.

•  Robotic process automation (RPA): Client-side automation and integration drove by Robotic process automation (RPA) process enables businesses in automating manual tasks that are usually handled by humans. Robotic process Automation offers end-to-end transparency as well as straight-through automation to its users.

•  Utilizing AI in simplifying back-end processes: Back-end activities can make effective use of AI. It is essential for retailers to analyze how AI-enabled back-end processes can augment the methods that are currently human-centric so that they can focus on issues that are more complicated.

It is vital to take slow, measured steps into the world of AI. Augmenting the back-end processes using AI can be the first step in this direction. Retailers can also look into the importance of seamless customer journeys and supportive technologies like low-code and RPA, which help in laying a foundation that can enjoy maximum benefits from AI and eventually transform the customer experience.